Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show had plenty of fans. It also had some very loud detractors.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul was among the latter group, but his complaints ended up irking Puerto Rican boxer Amanda Serrano, the first fighter he ever signed to his Most Valuable Promotions company and one of his biggest allies in the boxing world.
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Hours before the Super Bowl, Paul tweeted he has no plans to watch the halftime show and urged his followers to boycott it as well, calling Bad Bunny “A fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America.”
Paul has lived in Puerto Rico since 2023.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had previously stood by the six-time Grammy winner after his comments at the Grammy Awards calling for “ICE out” and to fight hate “with love.” The halftime show avoided the former message, but continued the latter, displaying the message “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” on the Levi’s Stadium scoreboard.
Serrano responded to Paul’s statement noting she and other Puerto Ricans like Bad Bunny are American citizens, which she is proud of. She credited Paul and MVP for helping her career, but made clear she disagrees with his statement.
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The full statement:
Tonight I am here where I’m supposed to be in my beautiful Island with my people celebrating and watching with awe how well Benito represented us and our culture
I am proud to be Puerto Rican, and I am proud to be an American citizen. Puerto Ricans are not “fake Americans.” We are citizens who have contributed to this country in every field, from military service to sports, business, science, and the arts, and our identity and citizenship deserve respect.
I would not have the opportunities I have today without the support and belief that Most Valuable Promotions and Jake Paul showed in me, and I will always be grateful for the role they have played in helping change my life and in elevating women’s boxing. At the same time, I want to be clear: I do not agree with statements that question the legitimacy or identity of Puerto Rican people, and I cannot support that characterization. It is wrong.
I fight with the pride of Puerto Rico and represent my flag every time I step into the ring. I will always stand with my people, with respect for who we are, and with pride in where we come from.
I will never change and will forever be a Proud Boricua.
Paul’s brother Logan also disagreed with his tweet.
Serrano was one of the top fighters in female boxing when she first signed with the newly founded MVP in 2021. Signing a seven-division champion and top pound-for-pound boxer gave legitimacy to a sphere of the sport that had so far been more spectacle than serious.
Currently the unified featherweight champion, Serrano signed a lifetime deal with MVP in 2025. Not only will she spend the rest of her career with Paul’s firm, she is also set to become chairwoman of the company’s women’s boxing initiatives after she retires.